Alright, folks, buckle up your legal tech seatbelts, because something interesting just landed on the tarmac. You know how we geeks over here at 3 Geeks and the Geek in Review love to dissect the latest moves in the legal innovation world? Well, Cleary Gottlieb, yes that Cleary Gottlieb, just went out and acquired
This week we welcome Bobby Puglia, Chief Product Officer at Bloomberg Industry Group, to discuss Bloomberg Law’s latest generative AI-powered tools: Bloomberg Law Answers and Bloomberg Law AI Assistant. Bobby provides an insightful look into how these tools are designed to revolutionize legal research by making it faster, more intuitive, and seamlessly integrated into users’ workflows. The conversation begins with a discussion about the challenges of capturing the attention of legal professionals and the strategies that can bridge the gap between innovation and adoption.
Bobby delves into the strategies behind overcoming “tool fatigue,” a common challenge in the legal industry. He highlights the importance of understanding specific user pain points and delivering targeted solutions. Marlene shares how peer advocates within law firms can champion the adoption of new tools, while Greg emphasizes the need for tailoring communication to align with the unique needs of different legal professionals. These insights reveal Bloomberg’s thoughtful approach to encouraging the adoption of its cutting-edge tools.
Bobby explains how Bloomberg Law Answers uses generative AI to provide concise, transparent answers directly in search results. With citations and detailed attributions, the tool seamlessly integrates into existing workflows. Meanwhile, the AI Assistant offers a groundbreaking way to interact with legal documents—allowing users to summarize, interrogate, and ask specific questions confined to the document’s “four corners.” These tools are designed to save time and enhance productivity for attorneys and legal researchers.
The discussion highlights Bloomberg’s user-focused development process, including its Innovation Studio, which uses pre-beta testing to refine tools based on user feedback. Bobby outlines how this iterative approach improves content sourcing, interface design, and overall functionality. Robust benchmarking, guardrails, and human-in-the-loop testing ensure that Bloomberg’s AI tools maintain the highest standards of accuracy and reliability.
Looking ahead, Bobby shares his vision for generative AI’s role in reshaping the legal industry. He predicts a future of integrated, customizable workflows that reduce time spent on routine tasks, allowing legal professionals to focus on high-value work. The conversation also explores how Bloomberg plans to expand its AI Assistant to tackle broader research tasks, streamline navigation, and enable seamless integration with platforms like Microsoft.
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Blue Sky: @glambertpod @marlgeb
Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
TRANSCRIPT
This week we welcome Jane Oxley, Chief Revenue Officer at Smokeball, to discuss the pivotal role of communication in legal organizations and how AI is transforming legal practice management. While normally in Australia, we were lucky enough to find Jane while she was working in Chicago, Jane shares her global perspective on communication challenges, bridging time zones, and the creative ways Smokeball leverages technology to streamline law firm operations. Co-host, Greg Lambert kicked off the show by introducing the concept of “Lambert’s Law,” highlighting that “all problems are communication problems,” setting the tone for an insightful discussion on organizational efficiency.
Jane explains how effective communication structures can reveal the health of an organization, whether through Slack’s rapid exchanges or more traditional law firm channels like email and face-to-face meetings. She notes the unique challenges faced by smaller firms, particularly their focus on casework over internal collaboration. Smokeball addresses these needs by integrating AI tools that help firms manage cases, streamline communication, and reduce administrative burdens, allowing lawyers to feel more in control of their workflows.
Jane Oxley and Marlene Gebauer also discuss the role of AI in enhancing productivity and profitability. Jane describes Smokeball’s AI tool, Archie, which helps automate document creation, email drafting, and summarization tasks. With AI handling routine work, lawyers can dedicate more time to client interaction and higher-value tasks. This shift not only increases efficiency but also helps smaller firms bill more accurately for their time—a long-standing challenge in the legal industry.
Addressing the potential impact of AI on the billable hour, Jane shares her perspective on the slow but inevitable shift toward value-based billing. She emphasizes that while AI enhances efficiency, widespread change in billing models requires education and a mindset shift. Some firms have begun experimenting with alternative billing structures, but the transition is gradual and nuanced, varying by practice area. Ultimately, AI tools empower firms to deliver better client service and justify their fees confidently.
Finally, the discussion highlights ethical considerations in adopting AI, particularly regarding client data privacy and regulatory compliance. Jane advises firms to be vigilant in choosing trusted AI providers and implementing safeguards. She predicts that AI will amplify client expectations for efficiency and responsiveness, but the human side of law—empathy, communication, and trust—will remain irreplaceable. By embracing AI to manage routine tasks, firms can focus on delivering exceptional client experiences, making the human element the true winner in this evolving landscape.
Listen on mobile platforms: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Twitter: @gebauerm, or @glambert
Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
Continue Reading Communication, AI, and the Human Side of Law: Insights from Smokeball’s Jane Oxley
This week we talk with Ed Walters from VLex to explore the Autumn 2024 release of VLex’s Vincent AI platform. Ed discusses a series of transformative updates that are turning Vincent AI from a legal research tool into a comprehensive platform that integrates drafting, transactional, and research tasks. These updates include new workflow tools, redlining capabilities, and an innovative feature called Prompt Assist, which enables users to have more control over the AI’s responses by asking follow-up questions to refine their queries. This added transparency and auditability make Vincent AI more user-friendly and trustworthy, as Ed highlights throughout the discussion.
One key feature of the Autumn 2024 release is the introduction of multi-turn conversations within the AI’s responses. This enhancement allows users to continue asking follow-up questions, enabling a deeper exploration of legal issues without needing to start from scratch each time. We discuss how this mirrors tools like Perplexity, where AI can provide follow-up prompts to help users navigate complex inquiries. Vincent AI goes further by asking clarifying questions to ensure the results are tailored to the specific needs of the user, such as identifying which party is at risk in a contract.
Ed emphasizes that legal professionals are not just conducting research for academic curiosity—they need actionable tools integrated into their workflow. Vincent AI’s new capabilities, such as drafting briefs or analyzing redlines, reflect this shift by focusing on providing immediate, actionable insights. Ed explains how these workflow tools enable lawyers to dive straight into their work instead of first sifting through research results, creating a more efficient and integrated process for legal professionals.
A significant highlight of the episode is the introduction of VIDA (Vincent in Docket Alarm), a new feature that combines VLex’s Vincent AI with Docket Alarm’s vast repository of court documents. This integration allows legal professionals to conduct deeper analyses of litigation trends, law firm strategies, and individual lawyer performance, offering unprecedented insight into how cases are being handled. Ed humorously mentions a suggestion from the VLex team to call this feature “DIVA” (Dockets in Vincent AI), but for now, it remains VIDA. This new development provides law firms with enhanced analytical capabilities to explore their own practices and those of competitors.
Finally, the episode concludes with Greg and Ed discussing the broader implications of these tools for law firms, especially in managing large, multi-jurisdictional projects. Ed explains how the 50-state survey feature, a traditionally burdensome task, can now be completed in minutes, making it easier for firms to scan legal landscapes across the U.S. and globally. As Greg points out, this capability not only streamlines the process for legal teams but also creates new opportunities for firms to offer innovative services to clients. Throughout the episode, the conversation showcases how Vincent AI’s latest updates are pushing the boundaries of legal technology.
Links:
– https://www.vlex.com/vincent
Listen on mobile platforms: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Contact Us:
Twitter: @gebauerm, or @glambert
Email: geekinreviewpodcast@gmail.com
Music: Jerry David DeCicca
Continue Reading vLex’s Autumn ’24 Update: Show and Tell with Ed Walters